The making of modern Samoa: traditional authority and colonial administration in the history of Western Samoa

Since independence in January 1962 several controversial court cases have exposed the dilemma which the Western Samoan government is facing balancing fa'a Samoa (Samoan customs and traditions) and Western rational-legal systems of authority. Western Samoa’s present legislative structure was adopted in 1962 providing two systems of legal resort to Samoans. When cases or disputes between individuals, ‘āiga (descent groups), nu’u (village), itū/mālō (district) and the national government are referred to the country’s court systems, parties may invoke either of these sources of authority to legitimise their actions and claims. The problem is particularly severe in the proceedings of the Land and Titles Court, a body legally constituted to deal with matters of traditional significance.